HOUSTON — Despite being traded for the third time in his six-year NFL career, new Houston Texans wide receiver Brandin Cooks said he doesn’t see the moves “as a negative.”
“The way that I look at it, I take it as a positive and that I’m wanted, and that I’m valued at a high level still,” Cooks said on Thursday in his first public comments since he was traded to Houston from the Los Angeles Rams on April 9. “You look at all of the trades, they all were for a first-rounder, and this one, going for a second-rounder. To be honest with you, I’m blessed to be able to go around and play with so many different teams and different quarterbacks and different organizations.
“… So I don’t think of it as a negative. I look forward to it. I’m a guy that adjusts pretty quick, and wherever I go, like I tell people, I’m going to ball. So I’m not worried about that.”
Last month, the Texans traded a 2020 second-round NFL draft pick (No. 57 overall) to the Rams for Cooks and a 2022 fourth-round pick. Cooks joins Michael Bennett as the only players to have been traded three times since January 2017, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
The Rams acquired Cooks and a fourth-round pick from the Patriots before the 2018 draft in exchange for a first-round pick. Los Angeles signed Cooks to a five-year, $81 million contract before the 2018 season. Cooks was drafted by the Saints in 2014 and played three seasons for New Orleans before he was traded to the Patriots.
In his two seasons in Los Angeles, Cooks had 122 catches for 1,787 yards and seven touchdowns. Although he experienced a smaller workload in 2019, while also missing two games due to multiple concussions, Cooks played an important role on the Rams’ Super Bowl LIII team.
“I think there’s a lot of nuances that [were] going on last year — not just for me but just from a team standpoint, we had a lot going on,” Cooks said. “At the end of the day, I dealt with some things on the field. But that does not go to show what type of player I am, the production that I’ve been putting in year in, year out since I’ve been in the league. That was just one of those off years. But it comes with the game, but that definitely is not the extreme that you should be looking from me as a player.”
Cooks has had a 1,000-yard receiving season with the Saints, Patriots and Rams, according to ESPN Stats & Info. The only player in NFL history to post 1,000 receiving yards in a season with four different teams is Brandon Marshall.
“I think that Brandin brings a lot to the table,” head coach Bill O’Brien said in his pre-draft news conference. “He’s a tremendous route runner, he’s got great speed. [He’s a] really good deep ball player. … I’ve been asked about concussions. Yes, he’s had concussions, but he’s only missed two games since 2015. All of that was taken into account when we worked with Sean McVay on the trade.”
When he was asked about his concussions on Thursday, Cooks said he is currently healthy.
“As far as the concussions, I’m feeling great, and I look forward to playing football,” Cooks said.